Monday, July 11, 2016

The Problem

Once again the working class has been repeatedly endangered by a sexual predator. A regionally notorious rapist posted a photo on social media of himself leading a sizable march in a city less than two hours away from where he committed sexual assault, holding a large banner emblazoned with the name of a highly visible group, alongside numerous unsuspecting attendees. The caption boasted of his "comrades." At least two, probably more, activists and community organizers from the city of his "original" brutalities were present at this march and knew he was a predator, but didn't know what to do. One said she hadn't wanted to draw attention to him. She also couldn't recall the exact nature of what he'd done three or so years prior, beyond that it was creepy. She'd been faced with a situation and was not equipped with a widely accepted, go-to response. And that wasn't her fault. A month passed and now he's back in the original city, casually attending events and bragging about it online, surely selecting his next target, almost no one the wiser. One diligent comrade in a respectably populated area is paying close attention and telling people. No one quite recalls the original incidents. The historical knowledge of three to four years ago is gone. Many factors contribute to this collective memory loss, which have been covered in previous posts and range from short-sighted election-based organizing, the Democratic Party's predictable betrayal of the working class and women* (same thing), Dem front groups' enviable ability to convert promising Leftists to their well-funded and guilt-laden liberalism, and the transient population of Florida whether due to DemOps flying their newest crop of recruits to mysterious trainings in Minneapolis and DC or socio-economic conditions, and so on. But when the chips are down, only one segment of the population is responsible for protecting the Actual Interests of the working class: The Left. Yet decade after decade, we fail to collectively craft and adopt a comprehensive strategy to rid our spaces of sexual predators.**

Mirages vs. Potable Water

Sociologists and anthropologists undoubtedly offer insights into the unchallenged "success" sexual predators have historically enjoyed in Leftist spaces. The Feds benefit from planting rapists in Leftist, as well as in anarchist, animal rights, environmentalist, and other activist, spaces to discredit the respective movements, which pose a threat to ruling class interests and private property, but this we shall lay aside temporarily. My hypothesis is simple: Because the Left's unifying ostensible purpose is Improving The World, men who participate in activism are subject to less scrutiny than men who don't.*** They want a living wage! They oppose racism! They believe in equality! It's the Left! Well, this ain't no hippie utopia, comrades. Truly understand: There are no safe spaces. Safe spaces are impossible under current material conditions, and even under drastically different ones until after a long period of purposeful cultural shifts and acclimation as multiple cocoons of alienation and false consciousness are shed. Our goal is not safe spaces. Our goal is to eradicate sexual predators — individuals and the groups who harbor them — from the spaces in which Leftists organize in a widespread, unified, methodical effort which has never been tried, by using a simple, effective strategy that is implementable by anyone willing to prioritize the safety of women.

The Strategy can and should be used locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. While it may require local then regional implementation initially, this in no way negates its international potential and eventual necessity.**** We shall watch the horizon, staying true to our internationalism, while implementing within our capacity. We must build incrementally, fine-tuning what works for our surroundings and adjusting when necessary. The usual barriers to international cohesion appear: Language barriers, geographic isolation, State repression, lack of Internet access, cultural differences. The principles and theories underpinning the Strategy are internationalist. However, they are malleable enough to be altered without sacrificing core tools and tactics to allow comrades who live in exceedingly different circumstances than those under which I live to take what they can use and change or leave the rest. It would be fascinating to hear details from anyone who adapts, alters, adds to, or omits portions of the Strategy for such purposes.

Call to Arms

We must reexamine our priorities now. We must this precise moment accept that the perpetual presence of sexual predators in activist spaces and the undisturbed existence/growth/activity of groups that harbor rapists and their front groups***** are absolutely unacceptable and must be made a top priority. We must also correct the rape apology of individuals and groups that continue to organize and associate with these groups and/or sexual predators even after mass boycotts have been called and enacted.

You've been arrested at the site of a young man's wrongful, senseless death at the hands of State thugs. You've been dragged out in handcuffs for shouting at a Trump rally. You've shut down intersections to commemorate the victims of misogyny and racism. You've occupied parks to represent the reclaiming of the Commons, to defy the ruling class, to show international solidarity. You've publicly confronted national leadership of a shadowy cult that protects rapists. You've named and shamed rapists. You've held internal investigations within your democratic centralist organizations, and disciplined and ejected offenders. These things I've seen. These things we know. But are you willing to take concerted, strategic action — at times with groups and persons you may strongly dislike or outright disagree with — to rid activist spaces of sexual predators?

There is a way out of the mire, an exit from the circular failure, away from the blight of sexual predators and rapist harboring groups operating with impunity in your backyard, unchecked, endangering women on your watch. The road will be muddy. Hands will get dirty. 'Cuffs will get slapped on. Charges will be caught. How far down this road are you willing to travel? What are you willing to do to for the working class? Exactly how important is preventing violence against women to you and/or your organization? In essence, who's ready to do what has never been done — prioritize the eradication of rapists and those who harbor them, shame rape apologists into compliance, and put women first?

Here I call on you to adopt a multi-tiered, multi-faceted strategy designed to (better) protect the working class and to implement it with the highest level of intensity, immediately, without hesitation or delay.

The Players

Listkeepers: A handful of trusted women experienced in theoretical and on-the-ground activism, survivorship, victim's advocacy, and feminism. Listkeepers will be bound by a solemn oath of privacy to protect survivors' details and stories. Any violation of the massive responsibility of this role will be met with severe, swift, and just consequences. Listkeepers should be (at least) regionally established, relevant, and trusted. Listkeepers will be appointed and approved by other Listkeepers. No one is entitled to know Listkeepers' identities. Listkeepers will be endangering themselves in several ways by maintaining a List of Sexual Predators and Groups That Harbor Them, as well as a subcategory for rape apologists who fail to support the Strategy and continue to interact with rapists and rape harboring groups, that contains personal details of victims, survivors, and other sensitive information. Listkeepers are not bound to disclose their Listkeeper status to any individual, organization, or government. Regarding the government, Listkeepers will not involve the State in any capacity without the survivors' explicit permission/request, and certainly never before deep reflection and productive conversations with the survivor and perhaps even other Listkeepers, as permitted by the survivor. Any interaction between survivors and the State is unrelated to the Listkeepers' role as related to the Strategy. That is, if a Listkeeper happens to be a professional Victim's Advocate, she is probably required to deal with the State at work. However, that interaction does not bleed into her role as Listkeeper. The State shall not determine for the Left who is a sexual predator, which groups harbor rapists, or who is a rape apologist. Listkeepers shall determine that based on a solid combination of experience, knowledge, documentation, and sound judgment. No applications will be accepted to join the Listkeepers. Membership will be determined by express invitation only.

Pointperson: A designated individual from any group that formally adopts the Strategy. Preferably a woman and preferably someone who has been involved in on-the-ground local, regional, national, or international Leftist activism for a respectable amount of time. That is to say, someone the Listkeepers know and who is dedicated to successful communication of relevant information between their group (leadership or membership, depending on the group's structure and size; this is all up to the group) and a Listkeeper. Pointpeople will inform Listkeepers and Implementers of their group's level of commitment. A group may change its level of commitment, but preferably not during an event, only afterward or in advance. Pointpeople will ask any questions groups or Listkeepers may have of each other. Pointpeople may not need to involve their entire group in decision-making processes or discussions, depending on group size and structure. The Strategy requires committed supporters, but it does not demand all (or even much in many cases) of a group's time and resources. The Pointperson is the sole liaison between Listkeepers and their group. They relay select information to their group leadership on a need-to-know basis and similarly bring back relevant information to a Listkeeper. Because unknown variables and last minute changes are common in activism, it is critical that Pointpeople have their group's trust and are vested with the authority to make decisions on behalf of their group spontaneously on the ground. Pointpeople must keep secure any private information about survivors, groups, rapists, etc. they may be subjected to in the process of implementing the Strategy. Good judgment is required.Harsh penalties will be the consequence of leaking protected information unnecessarily, carelessly, or maliciously. Pointpeople should inform Listkeepers of upcoming events in which their group is involved or about which they have heard, even if they are not participating. Open communication about events is critical to the Strategy's success. Additionally, Pointpeople should notify a Listkeeper of any allegations or observations of sexual predation within their own group or any breaking of the boycott of rape coverup groups by their fellow group members or other organizers and activists. Pointpeople's personal survivor experiences in activism are welcomed as well, but always at their own discretion. Pointpeople can also be individuals who attend many events, work for various Dem front groups, and are generally present in activist spaces. Unaffiliated Pointpeople must also act as Implementers.

Implementer: A person who implements the Strategy online and/or on the ground, depending on willingness and ability. Implementers are a crucial part of the Strategy and must be trustworthy and well-known by Pointpeople and/or Listkeepers. Implementers must be able to follow strict protocol and stay calm under duress. They may serve as both an Implementer and a Pointperson for their group. Implementers on the ground must memorize the order and details of the Levels of Escalation and exercise self-restraint and self-discipline during events. Implementers will face harsh censure for skipping levels, therefore unnecessarily escalating situations, on the ground or online. Implementers must exercise total discretion with any sensitive information regarding survivors, groups, predators, etc. they may be exposed to in the course of duty or face consequences. A gender-based division of labor will exist among Implementers on the ground during Levels 2 and 4. Implementers will rely on information from their Pointperson regarding their group's level of commitment to the Strategy. Unaffiliated Implementers decide their own level of commitment and are their own Pointperson. Implementers are (currently) responsible for their own bail and legal fees, which should only apply to those fully committed to all Four Levels of Escalation. Crowdfunding for Implementers who accrue fines and fees may be an option for unaffiliated Implementers or Implementers from groups with small or no budgets. Interested potential Implementers may inquire to a Listkeeper, who will then discuss the candidate with other Listkeepers, but denial of application must be respected. Listkeepers may watch a prospective Implementer's actions for a few events then decide they are indeed Implementer material.Prospective Implementers should never infringe upon or interfere with active Implementers performing their duties. An Implementers in Training program may be developed as the Strategy is more widely adopted.

Levels of Escalation

Level 0

The baseline. Possibly the most time-consuming level. The foundation of the rest of the levels. The bare minimum that individuals and groups must adhere to and support, onsite and online, vocally and actively. Obligations (both types required) - Passive: Non-affiliation. Refusal to associate with sexual predators, including denial of enrollment or refutation of membership in your group and social shunning. Forbidding them from carrying signs, leafleting, or conducting any activities, paid or unpaid, for you or your organization. Active: Information dissemination. Informing everyone at and/or RSVPd for an event that a predator is expected to attend/is present. The method of information dissemination will depend on the type of event. Materials will be available for Implementers to download and print and/or copy and paste. It is crucial that Level 0 is done thoroughly so no one is triggered by the potential actions of the predator. Informed decision-making by the crowd is integral: They need to know we are ultimately doing this for them. We inform them so they may choose to stay or not. If Level 0 inadvertently triggers someone, remember that it is better to be triggered than targeted (although we obviously want neither). Information dissemination should continue as long as necessary to ensure that every single person present is aware of the background and current situation.

Level 1

Level 0 plus asking predator(s) to leave. Once information dissemination is nearly complete (there can be slight overlap if there are many Implementers and a large crowd), Implementers, preferably women, will escalate to Level 1. Several Implementers will approach the predator together. One pre-designated Implementer should evenly and at a normal conversational volume say, "You are a predator. Please leave now." No other Implementers should speak but should stand firm at a socially acceptable conversational distance as obvious supporters of the speaker's request. The Implementer who speaks should engage in no conversation with the predator. They may repeat the request up to three times. Most predators do not want attention drawn to them. They want to blend in and seem harmless, nonchalant, invisible. If the predator complies, they should be escorted off the premises by several Implementers, who should gather as much visual intel as possible, noting vehicle details, anyone accompanying them, distinguishing marks, etc. There is no need for further spoken communication during the escorting away. We informed the public and protected women without disrupting the event. We won that battle. If the predator refuses to leave after being asked one to three times, immediately escalate to Level 2.

Level 2

Levels 0-1 plus containing and confronting the predator(s). Implementers who only committed to Level 0 should continue to disseminate information to late arrivals and have productive conversations. Several Implementers of various genders should surround the predator with a wall or circle, depending on the venue layout, creating a barrier between predator and crowd. Implementers should refrain from getting too close to avoid any accidental physical contact or video footage that could be misinterpreted. Personal space should be slightly infringed. Two pre-designated Implementer(s) should take turns saying, "You're a predator. Women asked you to leave, but you won't. We are protecting people from you. Leave now." There should be no other exchanges. The Speaking Implementers must focus on repeating their phrases in calm, level tones, and refuse to be manipulated into engaging about any other topic or into getting angry or upset.

Implementers should stay focused on physical position because the predator may move around a lot and histrionically pretend to be bullied. Some of the crowd may be videoing at this point. Levels 2, 3, and 4 can progress very quickly, depending on the predator's experience level with predation and personality. Implementers should be prepared for erratic behavior at Level 2 and beyond. If the predator doesn't leave, quickly proceed to Level 3 when they become too loud to hear the two Speaking Implementers, too agitated and aggressive to contain with a human barrier, or based on other factors at Implementers' discretion. Level 3 is the most essential after Level 0.

Level 3

Levels 0-2 plus verbal hostility. Within seconds of moving to Level 3, Implementers should break any circle (to avoid concentric circles), form/keep a linear barrier between the predator and the crowd (near the predator but not as close as Levels 1 and 2), and chant, "You are a predator. We demand you leave now."Give them some space to display their anger publicly; much of the crowd will have gathered by now even at a large event. Chant until the predator leaves.If they stay, the predator will shout accusations of racism, sexism, witch hunts, police operatives, and threats. Implementers must stay calm.The crowd, which is well-informed thanks to Level 0, will witness the predator's erratic behavior and the display of solidarity from men and women against rapists. The crowd will spontaneously join the chant, increasing the odds that the predator will leave. As Level 4 approaches, Implementers only committed to Level 3 should back away and focus on surroundings while continuing to chant. All Implementers, especially those committed only to Level 0 and 1, should know from observation if the predator has anyone with them, who in the crowd seems receptive/helpful, who might need to be escorted offsite, and any other noteworthy data. If the predator still refuses to leave, either they or fully committed Implementers will escalate to Level 4.The Strategy works best with proper timing of the Levels of Escalation and when each level is progressed through in turn. It is possible, not probable, that the predator could stay in Level 2 or 3 for the duration of the event. That is how Level 4 is avoided.It is advantageous for Implementers to choose when to escalate at any level, not to let the predator decide.

Level 4

Levels 0-3 plus physical removal. Continue the chant from Level 3 throughout Level 4. If they don't leave, it is time for fully committed Implementers to physically remove the rapist.Here the gendered division of labor used in Level 2 becomes useful again. A pre-selected group, previously discussed and decided among Implementors for that event, should calmly usher the predator away. If the predator escalates to Level 4 first, bear in mind that a man predator will not likely physically attack a woman publicly and that women predators tend to physically attack any gender. Avoid a fistfight even if the predator suckerpunches someone. It is simple for a couple of Implementers to pull a predator off of one person. Either way, Implementers should take them by the armpits with a little help pushing from behind as needed. The crowd may attempt to help if Levels 0 and 3 were particularly successful. However, beware an angry mob. Being videoed is an inevitability. Implementers may prefer to appear to be helping an intoxicated friend to their car rather than seeming to incite a riot. Above all, Implementers should never lose their tempers.If proper communication occurs among all roles, there will be no surprise predatory attendees and no surprise police calls. Pointpeople will communicate to Implementers and Listkeepers in advance whether or not their group will call the fuzz. Perhaps those with faith in the State can be reasoned with, perhaps not. Specialized police avoidance tactics will be divulged privately to Implementers during a mandatory training session for Levels 1 through 4 during which Implementers will practice all Levels of Escalation and different scenarios.

Types of Events

Sensitive

Because rape coverup groups have a history of hiding behind vigils for people of color, transpeople, and other marginalized groups, the Strategy should be modified slightly for such events but always implemented. Flyers with a clear Trigger Warning at the top followed by a simple statement that a sexual predator is present will be available to download and print and should be distributed to everyone in attendance. The predator need not be identified. The awareness of their presence is paramount. If an audience member is seeking more information, Implementers should feel free to quietly inform them about the background and current situation. Implementers who are uncomfortable speaking to others in this setting may refer them to other Implementers, as designated beforehand in the Implementers' discussions and planning. Once the literature is distributed (Level 0), proceed with Level 1. If they don't leave, proceed to Level 2. If they don't leave, proceed to Level 3 with a slightly quieter chant than a less sensitive event. Unless the predator escalates to Level 4 first, stay at level 3. Once the event ends, Implementers who are only committed to Levels 0-1 should offer to walk attendees to their cars. After the event has clearly ended or the end time of the event arrives and the rapist is still present, escalate to Level 4. If faced with doubt due to bourgeois notions of manners and etiquette, ask yourself, "What's more important: the event message, or outing and ousting a predator and preventing potential sexual assaults? The answer is always the latter. And if your doubt persists, then stop at Level 0, 1, or 2, and don't call yourself a Communist or a feminist.

PublicProceed through the Escalation of Levels.

Private

This type of event has the most unknown variables, which means it will require the most group cohesion and good judgment during on-the-spot decision making. With the extensive network of activists supporting the Strategy on any level, private venues should be known ahead of time. The longer the Strategy is in place, the more informed we will become regarding venue rules, owners, political leanings, police relationships, noise ordinances, and other relevant information. For new/untried venues and depending on the amount of advance notice, online-only Implementers and/or Listkeepers will contact the venue manager, owner, or other petit bourgeois authority figure. A businessperson will likely cancel a reserved room before risking a "rape scandal" or disruption of their profit-making. If the owner/authority figure does not cancel or is unreachable, Pointpeople and Implementers will make a judgment call about how to proceed at a given venue based on experience and observation. Most likely, we will proceed through the Four Levels of Escalation until the event is shut down or disrupted whether Implementers stand outside a building or sit in the room. For ticketed events we cannot attend, Listkeepers will attempt to connect with Pointpeople for the hosting group and make them aware of the List and persuade them to adopt the Strategy. The tactics used to disrupt FRSO's (Tampa Bay SDS) International Women's Day event may be a good model for certain settings although it should be modified to adhere to the Four Levels of Escalation.

Stringent measures will be taken against groups claiming to be Leftists that protect and defend rapists. Tampa Bay SDS, a front group for FRSO, will no longer hold any events without disruption. They have openly admitted on video and in front of a roomful of people that they harbor multiple sexual predators, who they move around the country like chess pieces in order to avoid detection. The Strategy, once applied broadly, could stop that threat to and betrayal of the working class. All groups who fit into this category will be ruthlessly pursued until our demands are met.

Information sharing is key. Many of the rape harboring groups have blocked Strategy supporters from seeing any of their events. Listkeepers will rely on everyone, especially Pointpeople, to inform them of upcoming events as early as possible. Membership lists of secretive organizations are also useful. Those who frequent campuses where FRSO and SDS are actively recruiting and tabling should regularly collect as much hard data, such as photos of tabling, information on flyers, audio recordings, and meeting times and places as possible and provide it to a Listkeeper. Anyone not blocked by suspected rape coverup group members should gather information. All of this is crucial to our struggle, to the Strategy.

No matter where a rape harborer group's event is, no matter what the topic is, the Correct thing to do is shut it down until our demands are met. We will be labeled insensitive racists, callous opportunists, egotistical wreckers. We do not care. We know what we are. We are Communists. We prioritize women. We prioritize the working class. We prioritize ridding the Left of rapists. We will shut them down, vigil or moment of silence, march or rally, graveside or curbside, church podium or stage podium. If in doubt about bourgeois notions of sensitivity and gentility, ask yourself, "Should a vigil hosted by a group that openly protects rapists proceed even if the symbolism is meaningful and important to many people?" The answer is no. No vigil should be a hideout for rapists. Any event hosted by a rape coverup and rapist harboring group should proceed through all Four Levels of Escalation, in order, no matter what, no matter where, no matter when.

Implementation by Liberals vs. Implementation by Reds

While the Left is to blame for our historical and continuing failure to construct, adopt, and implement a unified Leftist anti-predator strategy, we are not responsible for the failures of liberals to adopt and implement it once we do. At this stage, we logistically cannot, and perhaps should not, monitor every single election-cycle pop-up Democratic Party front group's acceptance and execution of the Strategy. Our expectations of liberals' commitment to the working class and the safety of women must be realistic. But when a group in our own backyard outright defies our existing demand — first issued, I believe, by Leftists Against Predatory Organizations and adopted by many groups in the US and perhaps beyond — to boycott rape coverup groups, we must loudly denounce them at every turn. We will track and continually remind everyone that those who openly associate with known predators and rape cults are rape apologists. Only when they commit to Level 0, which is the baseline, will they cease to be labeled as rape apologists.

We will hold self-proclaimed Leftist organizations and individuals to the highest standard.****** All Communist groups, formations, parties, and organizations must commit to Level 4 or face ruthless, relentless denunciation as enemies of the working class until they begin actively aiding the implementation of the Strategy of their own impetus, with their own resources, effective immediately. We are eager to explain details, present at meetings and conferences, answer questions, and help everyone start using the Strategy to the best of our ability, but once comprehension of the basics is achieved, ultimately it is every Communist's obligation to proceed without hand-holding, without prodding, without hesitation, to prioritize ridding our spaces of rapists and rape coverup groups, as well as harshly criticizing the rape apologists who break the boycott against such vile groups. Women are the working class. Rape survivors are the working class. Rape victims are the working class. It's high time Communists began to aggressively act like it.

* Once again I remind you that throughout BAMF, I tend to refer to men as men and women as women. Transwomen are women; transmen are men. I utilize the semantic simplicity of the gender binary here for brevity's sake, not to discount attacks on men, not to erase other genders, not to imply that women can't be predators, not to imply that some women's needs are different than other women's needs, and not to disavow that the violence perpetrated on some women is motivated by different causes than the violence perpetrated on other women. I also wish to avoid falling into the alphabet soup of today's rapidly changing gender lexicon with which a good deal of readers, and perhaps the writer, may be unfamiliar. The terminology continues to morph, and I do not wish to confuse current or future readers or render the strategy obsolete due to the use of outdated terms. If "man" and "woman" are someday completely abolished as categories, great! That would immensely simplify the implementation of the Strategy.

** Our intent is not to foist these putrid characters into apolitical, religious, right-wing, or other spaces, about which I lack insight regarding the prevalence of rape coverups and predator presence. A popular adage springs to mind, if inaccurately. Something about unpaid domestic labor, bourgeois ideals of cleanliness, and private property: "Clean up your own house before criticizing other people's mess." A sound strategy should accomplish a given aim, as long as there are broadly shared material conditions. Anyone may utilize the Strategy. If it prevents a racist, pro-forced birth, bourgeois woman from being raped, good. But we are the Left, so we address Leftist problems.

*** For an even starker contrast, compare the perception of Leftist men with the perception of men outside health clinics that provide safe, simple medical procedures, shouting slurs based on Judeo-Christian bourgeois notions of propriety, piety, chasteness, and the inferiority and inherent uncleanliness of women and their duty to be submissive to the Rule of Man at vulnerable victims of unwanted pregnancies, "values" and tactics that even the most dedicated religious fundamentalist women must silently question at some point.

**** A specific strategy for international implementation may be needed if the strategy doesn't spread organically as predicted.

***** When I refer to groups who harbor rapists and participate in rape coverups, their front groups are always already understood to be included. Leftists are acutely aware of the lack of division between the underlying political groups or parties and their front groups. Membership often almost completely overlaps. Front groups are often "secretly" run by a given main political group or party, typically as a result of concerted tireless attempts to take over existing groups with name recognition, demographically diverse membership, political credibility, presence on college campuses, ability to vote or participate in other direct action, and potential recruits to the underlying political group or party. Freedom Road Socialist Organization (Fight Back) has front groups, including Students for Justice in Palestine, Raíces en Tampa, (some or all branches of) Dream Defenders, all SDS chapters except UT Arlington, Committee to Stop FBI Repression, and more. Most US chapters of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) are controlled by FRSO. FRSO attempts to recruit members of SDS. If they choose not to join FRSO but remain in SDS, they inevitably continue to organize and associate with FRSO and soon learn about FRSO's numerous rape coverups and rapists in the organization's ranks. Armed with the knowledge of FRSO's class traitorship, they can choose to continue to associate with SDS (in which case FRSO makes them miserable and/or continues to apply heavy recruitment pressure), which makes them rape apologists for FRSO. Or they can quit SDS. An occasional rogue SDS chapter publicly disavows FRSO. Those brave souls are the exceptions others should emulate. They are crossed off of FRSO's master list of controlled SDS chapters. When University of Texas Arlington's SDS chapter denounced FRSO, FRSO admitted defeat and began organizing a group called Progressive Student Union, which is now on their master list. When University of Florida's SDS chapter denounced FRSO, FRSO didn't give up so easily and regained control of the chapter relatively quickly.

If the underlying group or party has enough funding, they often opt to create new front groups instead of infiltrating existing ones. The Democratic Party has front groups. SEIU has front groups. Planned Parenthood has front groups. The list goes on and is relatively easy to research.

****** Individual Leftists on parole, with disabilities that inhibit physical altercations, and other legitimate reasons are expected to commit to the Strategy at the highest level possible for their personal situation while groups are held to the highest standard.

Notes:

• Various organizations have internal procedures for dealing with sexual predators within their ranks. The omnipresent State permits able and willing survivors to expose themselves to callous dismissals, unsettling levels of personal scrutiny, and unknown but very real threats of retaliation from the State and the accused, with the added deterrents of low rates of rape convictions and decades of rape kit analysis backlogs. Organizations' internal rules and the State's disinterest in aiding survivors and convicting rapists (although it may be argued that the State would profit from incarcerating more people) fail to address the root of the problem: There is no broadly accepted and implemented Leftist strategy to protect the working class from rapists, specifically in activism spaces. We cannot rely on organizations of which most Leftists are not members or on the State to solve this problem. We must take up the yoke ourselves. We call on even the most established Communist organizations and parties to adopt and implement the Strategy.

• Several trusted comrades and some community organizers and activists gave suggestions for improvement, comments about potential repercussions and situations, proposals to enhance the Strategy's effectiveness, and critiques. It was genuinely appreciated. I was amazed by how many groups committed to my spoken description of the Strategy. One's spirits would truly be bolstered if as many and more take the required action once faced with the written word, once the gauntlet has been thrown down, once the lines have been drawn. • Email BadAssMarxistFeminist@gmail.com in order to see what you can do in your area to promote and implement the Strategy or with questions, comments, and concerns. I will put you in touch with a Listkeeper to confidentially share any information about a sexual predator, rape coverup group, or rape apologist individual or group.